The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 104 -
The seventh, eighth and ninth signs of the zodiac.
1
(Mathael:) "Listen then! After the crab we see the lion in the great zodiac. How does this wild beast then come among the signs of the sky? Likewise just as naturally as everything else that we have got to know up to now!
2
After the crab hunt, which lasts its thirty days and sometimes also an extra one or two - because the month of the crab (June) and not the month of the fish (February) was decided as the month of balancing out by the old Egyptians - another calamity began which created a lot of cares and worry for the elders. Around this time the lions usually give birth and are there, full of hunger, concentrating most on the hunt and move far and wide over the deserts, the mountains and the valleys into areas where they scent some fat herds.
3
Since the fatherland of the lions is actually hot Africa, and Asia Minor is also often conquered by these kings of the animals, it is therefore understandable that it was not difficult for them to press forward to middle and lower Egypt and there cause devastation among the peacefully grazing herds. Just as a great cold drives the wolves into areas occupied by people, so the great heat of Julius (July) drives the lions into the somewhat cooler northern fields where there is a good prey.
4
But in this month in upper Egypt the heat is the strongest and most unbearable and therefore often drives the lions north to the Meditterranean where it is obviously cooler than in the area of the glowing hot sandy desert. In short, at the beginning of this period the inhabitants of Egypt constantly receive visits from these feared guests and must defend themselves quite efficiently against them in order to keep them from their herds. And since the sun at this time enters a constellation that just like that of the bull represents more or less the form of a furious lion, the elders called this heavenly body with the name of a lion, and in Egypt this time was also called the name "lion" (Le o wa), "Le the evil one" or "the descendent of evil one", in contrast to"El" the good one or "the son of good one", O the sun of god, wa, also wai flees; Le o wai therefore means: The evil one flees the sun.
5
The Romans named their hero Julius Caesar in honor just a few decades ago this time period with his name, because he knew how to fight as cunningly and bravely as a lion. There you have the seventh heavenly or zodiac sign which also became idolised in a way by the later descendents.
6
But after the lion we see a "virgin" follow; that seems not to suit what has happened before?! Oh yes, it suits it completely and quite naturally! With the conquering of the time of the lions, the main worries of the year were now in a way finished, and one turned here to a greater cheerfulness and put on festivals, which particularly served to give presents to the good and demurely pure virgins, in order to encourage them to further demureness; it was also tradition in this period to celebrate marriages. Only a virgin found to be pure could be taken as a wife; one who had not kept her virginity, however, was excluded from marriage and could only in the very best case become a concubine of some man who already had one or more proper wives - otherwise the only thing left for her was the despicable and low status of slave. And so this time had a very weighty importance, and because around this time another very nice constellation of the zodiac came to stop over the sun, it was called the "virgin". But only several years ago did the vain Romans give this period the name of the Caesar, in the honor of Caesar Augustus. And so you know now also, dear Helena, how a virgin came after the lion in the stars. But now let"s move on!
7
We have now seen how a virgin also came among the constellations of the zodiac; but now something enters that we will soon see. We see a balance scales, as the grocers and pharmacists use for weighing their specimens and medicines. How did this instrument for testing weight come among the stars then? I tell you: Very easily and again just as naturally as all the earlier ones!
8
You see, after the time of the virgins" test and the marriages, by which this previous time was mostly characterised, came the time of the testing of the most harvest, of the grain - which the oldest inhabitants of this land had farmed, of course alongside the cattle - of the fruits, the figs, the dates, the oil, the pomegrantes, the oranges and more of the same.
9
Every community had its elders as representatives and leaders of all business and likewise a priest who had only to occupy himself with the spiritual and to teach the people on certain days and to prophecy at important events. It does not need to be mentioned that the status of priest soon much increased, and this status did not have much to do with coarse, physical work, except with new attempts and improvements in every possible respect.
10
It was also the priests who explored the metals of the Earth, collected them and made them suitable for use. But for all the many technical things they needed as well many henchmen and well trained artisans who all had no time to devote themselves to farming and cattle-breeding, and thus such people had to be supported by the community. But how should that be measured, that every member of the community should give a corresponding part of his harvest to the priests and their helpers?
11
The tithe was decided, and every member of the community had to give the tenth part of all their harvest to the priests. But how was the tithe measured? Quite simply: with the scale! There were larger and smaller scales available for use in the way just mentioned. Every community owned several such scales, and before the eyes of the community council all harvests were exactly measured by filling both scale pans completely; the filled pans were emptied out nine times into the box of the community member, but the tenth time into the box of the priests. The high priest was at the same time the protector of the whole tribe or the shepherd with the expression "Vara on" ("he protects" or "he is the shepherd"). In later times the Varaons became the genuine kings of the land under whose dominion the priests also stood.
12
But now we see from this historically true representation that the period of time just after that of the virgin was attributed mainly for the weighing of the harvests for the tithe-giving to the priesthood; and because at exactly this time the sun once again entered a new sign, this sign was therefore called in the zodiac "the scales" (Libra). That will be clear to anyone who is even a little familiar with the traditions and habits of the ancient Egyptians.
13
It hardly needs to be mentioned that in the time of the scales all sorts of corresponding meanings were laid aside and it was used also as a symbol of the divine as well as the wordly justice, yes, that it is still worshipped in a way by some yet undeveloped peoples, as the Indians do to the plough here and there. On the one hand the fantasy of people and on the other hand the constantly growing profit-seeking of the ever increasing priests and teachers idolised in time whatever seemed time-honored and useful for all humanity.
14
In this way we have now seen how a human tool came into the great zodiac, and we therefore also want to see further how the highly dowdy insect "the scorpion" came to the great zodiac!"